Boston Trip: Lake Compounce

eightdotthree

Monday, September 11, 2006 10:46 AM

After some trouble with the local roads, and entering through one of the wierdest entrances to an amusement park ever I finally arrived at Lake Compounce. I paid my $5 for parking and found a spot in the gravel lot. You can't really see the park from here which is pretty neat but once you go under the bridge/tunnel though you are greeted with a pretty unique looking midway.

I wanted to visit Lake Compounce because of Boulder Dash and while on my way to the ride I had huge smile on my face, I was really wishing Monica had been able to come. I stopped for a ride on Wildcat on my way and discovered how odd they run their coasters. I walked into an empty station after the train left and found a chain preventing me from walking up to my seat of choice with no ride operating giving me any direction at all. So like a good boy I waited at the chain and waited for the ride op to come and let me in when a gaggle of kids came running under all the queue railings. They were asked to return into the line and the op let us all in. I got into the front seat and found Wildcat to be a pretty fun ride. Much more fun than the video makes it out to be. I would have like to get a backseat ride, but by the time I came back I was exhausted and late for my trip back to Boston so I skipped it.

Boulder Dash was next up and it had a one train wait! Awesome. I got into the back car not knowing what I was getting myself into. Out of the station, up the steep mountain side lift and off I am! Slow, slow, slow then all hell breaks loose. I am getting pushed from side to side, kicked out of my seat and generally having a great time. Next thing I know I am at the turnaround thinking the train is going as fast as it can go. Man was I wrong. The turnaround hits and the train picks up even more speed. This is probably the most intense element on a wood coaster, comparable to anything Raven's last section. Airtime, airtime and more airtime on the return trip and then the brakes. Damn, great ride. Its in my top ten, maybe my top five. Its great.

I ended up with six rides on Boulder Dash in various seats, but I think the back was my favorite. By the end of my sixth ride my neck and back had enough. I can't even imagine what a night ride would be like and would have loved to stay for one, but I had to get back to Boston.

There are two sections of the ride that absolutely need work in the off season. They are during the out section and it felt as if the train hit a two ft. pot hole it jarred my back so bad. Other than those two rough spots the ride was as smooth as you can expect when running steel wheels on steel track at 65 mph.

The park as a whole was really nice, but there was something not quite right. I loved it, but it seemed more like a Conneaut lake than a Kennywood. I spent some time walking around, put my feet in the lake, enjoyed plenty of free soda and water and took it all in. Its a neat place. The skyride was really amazing too, I had no idea it was so long and that the view would be so great.

All in all, I would visit again with a point on enjoying the waterpark and getting some night time rides on Boulder Dash.